Gotham Episode 2 Review: The Penguin in a John Carpenter Flick

Warning: Spoilers!

Following on from the death of Bruce Wayne’s parents and Gordon’s promise to reform the Gotham PD in the first episode, our heroes take us deeper into the Gotham underworld. And with it, things become more and more horrific and feels less like a crime drama on several occasions.

Selina Kyle aka Catwoman, who witnessed the Wayne murder is caught up in a child trafficking ring engineered by The Dollmaker, a supervillain I am not familiar with and would like to learn more about if it features more in the series. Gordon and Bullock, through a meeting with Fish Mooney find a way to the kidnapped children, learning that they might be used as guinea pigs in experiments carried out in Arkham Asylum.

Gordon and Bullock then rescue the children and are hailed as heroes by the mayor of Gotham, Auberey  James (Richard Kind), which seems to becoming a trope of the series, before stating that the kids will be sent to juvenile detention centres as part of an anti-homelessness program.

The bus carrying Catwoman is then recaptured by the Dollmaker and Catwoman attempts to escape before Gordon and Bullock arrive and bring the children home. The episode then ends with Catwoman informing Gordon that she saw the Wayne’s murderer and that Poison Ivy’s father was indeed a patsy. 

What I enjoyed most about this episode were the disturbing scenes involving the Penguin. There is a subplot spanning his descent into madness which he delivered with all the insanity and hysteria of a slasher film killer. I was reminded of Nightmare on Elm Street and Halloween several times by the Penguin kidnapping and decapitating two teenagers after they pick him up from the streets.

Also, I was excited at the mentions of Arkham Asylum. Having played the video game and read the comic book, I was hoping the mysterious loony bin would make an appearance somewhere. The hints at it reopening did make me want to watch more episodes.

Finally, I praise this episode for showcasing some very strong and determined female characters. Camren Bicondova presented Catwoman as a feisty and determined street child who would use any means and resources to achieve her ends. I also found her manipulation of a detective at the end of the episode quite interesting as the series will hopefully display her rise into becoming an anti-hero aiding the corrupt police force.

Zabryna Guevera also offered a very authoritative and intelligent portrayal of Sarah Essen, the captain of the Gotham Police Department which reminded me of the chief judge in Dredd (2012). Comic books have always been an interesting place to find female characters who don’t fall into the Damsel in Distress or Manic Dream Pixie Girl trope – however I just wonder if the Women in Refrigerators trope will crop up somewhere, as I get the impression Gordon’s fiancé Barbara Kean is only serving as a plot point for the protagonist.

Finally, seeing Bruce Wayne startle Alfred (Sean Pertwee) and reference Batman’s later abilities to skulk in the shadows was quite a good use of foreshadowing, though I couldn’t grapple why Wayne was shown listening to Death Metal and having self harmed.

But all in all, a fairly good progression that will attract horror fans who like the batman stories influenced by gore and splatterpunk fiction.

Bechdel Result: Fail.

Gotham Pilot Review: If David Fincher Made Cop Dramas

Warning: Spoilers!

First of all I’m not a huge Batman fan. I felt only the last two of the Christopher Nolan films were mildly entertaining because of the villains and the Christian Bale incarnation was very wooden. However I have enjoyed past incarnations of Batman, namely the animated series, and one thing I’ve been hoping for, for a long time, is a dramatisation of the life of Bruce Wayne before he became the Dark Knight. Something which certainly worked in Smallville (Superman) but even more so with Batman in my opinion.

And since Gotham is the closest we’re going to get with this idea, I’ve decided to review the series, episode by episode, so expect a regular Gotham blog every week.

With all that said and done, lets dive into the pilot episode.

Our story opens with a young Catwoman (Carmen Bicondova) witnessing the murder of Bruce Wayne’s parents, Thomas and Martha. Then we cut to our hero Detective James Gordon (Ben McKenzie) exhibiting himself as the only straight cop in a thoroughly corrupted force before being assigned the Wayne case. 

Gordon, under the leadership of Detective HarveyBullock (Donal Logue) visits the murder scene and confides in young Bruce (David Mazouz) telling him he can relate to the loss of his parents. Gordon then swears to Bruce to find the killer and we then see an 80s style montage of Bullock and Gordon interviewing witnesses.

Through a series of leads, Bullock is led to mobstress Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett Smith) and her right hand Oswald Copplebot aka The Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor). Through them they find and kill the suspected killer and are hailed as heroes before a snitch reveals that the whole case was a set up. The revelation leads to Gordon receiving upset questions from his fiancé Barbara Kean (Erin Richards).

Desperate to clear his name, Gordon seeks out the family of the suspect, whose daughter will grow up to become the infamous Posion Ivy, and eventually discovers the true culprit behind the Wayne murder – revealing the in depth corruption within the Gotham PD including his accomplice, Bullock.

The episode ends with Gordon promising to rebuild the police force from within and to overthrow the corrupt powers who murdered the Waynes.

Overall, I felt what made this episode worth watching was how it depicted the development of the Penguin. As Bruce Wayne is only a recurring character here, I felt the villains are whom the keen Batman fans should look out for as this is their story. 

Compared to other Batman incarnations, the opening did appear reminiscent to the Tim Burton film, but I felt on more than one occasion I was watching a David Fincher movie. The lighting and dialogue reminded me of Seven, and McKenzie’s strong resemblance to Edward Norton made me think of Fight Club. Gotham is what you’d get if Fincher went into television and made cop series instead of his neo-noir masterpieces. 

I do feel satisfied in watching this show again because they depicted the origins of the Penguin very well and I look forward to whom the next episode focuses on.

Though to nit-pick on things I felt were of poor taste, I didn’t understand why there were several semi-naked strippers getting dressed in the background of the scene in Mooney’s club. The club was completely empty apart from Bullock and Mooney, so why did we need a classic example of ‘women as background objects?’

Secondly I felt the depiction of domestic violence on Poison Ivy’s mother was a little too exaggerated by how over the top the bruising on her face was. You don’t need to have big gratuitous injuries to talk about violence against women, perhaps a little more subtlety should be employed. You don’t need to show such harsh and upsetting wounds to reflect how harsh and violent domestic abuse can be so there I think is some room for improvement.

But overall it’s a pretty good take on a Batman incarnation without the Dark Knight.

Bechdel Result: Fail.